Abilene bagpipers bring the noise for upcoming performance

Group seeks respect for traditional instrument

Then a steady droning begins to build, as if a swarm of angry hornets is descending upon the Church of the Heavenly Rest parish hall.

The reality, to some, is much worse. Six people are playing bagpipes at the same time.

Nowhere in America is there a more misunderstood and feared musical instrument than the bagpipes. In addition to the drum and lyre, they're among the oldest instruments in human history.

By now, you'd figure they would have gained a bit more mainstream acceptance.

Enter the Abilene Pipers. By performing at a variety of special events and dinners across the Big Country, they're blowing to prove that the pipes have more to offer than grit teeth and headaches.

They're set to perform in their big annual showcase, the Robert Burns Supper, on Saturday in the Elks Arts Center.

Robert Partin, 48, leads the troupe. Just talking to him one-on-one, he's not the type of guy who screams "bagpiping material."

No Scottish brogue, here. Partin speaks in a crackling Texas twang, firing off one-liners like a comedian on a bender.

At one point, he stops to explain how he "tunes" his bagpipes by sticking tape onto the instrument's melody pipe, or chanter.

"Of course, we use Scotch tape," Partin says. He pauses, as if awaiting for a drummer to give him a rimshot.

Partin, who does have some Scottish blood in his veins, first discovered the glory of the pipes at a folk festival. He and his wife were about to leave when the bagpipe-heavy sounds of Celtic band Clandestine caught his ear.

Partin was entranced. He convinced his wife to stay, first through one song, then the set. By the end of the show, both knew that Partin was about to become obsessed with the bagpipes.

What drew him to the instrument was its sheer volume, above all else.

"It's the power," Partin says, before launching into a riff. "(Playing the bagpipes) is like shooting a .44 Magnum. I mean, sure, you can shoot a .22, but that's like a kid playing flute in a high school band."

That same power forces him to wear a high-tech-looking pair of headphones while he plays. He has to save his ears for his other job, after all ... he's a piano tuner.

Ten years after officially forming the Abilene Pipers with three other players, Partin now leads a completely re-jiggered lineup.

The group includes 12-year-old Wesley Donhauser, who has been playing on the full bagpipes for a year.

"Our neighbors love it," says his father, Jeff, in a deadpan that one could easily mistake for sarcasm.

But Wesley says it's true. When he goes out to the backyard or front porch to practice (no indoor playing allowed), Wesley says he gets "compliments, not complaints."

Drawn to the power of the pipes, Wesley began practicing with just a chanter two years ago. Jeff wanted to make sure that his son showed true commitment to the instrument ­before investing in a full bagpipe set.

That usually sets a player back $900 ... on the low end.

Nowadays, instead of the old animal stomachs, the actual "bag" of the bagpipes is made out of a sort of "scuba suit material," Partin explains. But the most expensive pieces of the instrument are the drones, the three wooden pipes that produce the deep wheeze that underscores bagpipe music.

The notes played on top of that bed are produced by fingering the chanter, blowing into the blow pipe and squeezing the bag for dear life.

It's an incredibly demanding way of producing just nine notes, which is all the bagpipe can play.

Cardio training can help, but a good 50 minutes is enough to gas even the more experienced players.

Still, there's a clear reward for players. They get to honor Scottish tradition and blow unsuspecting listeners away in the process.

Bagpipes tend to get a bad reputation, Partin and company said, because they're often poorly played and poorly tuned.

"If they're out of tune, people hear it," group member Buddy McKay says. "They don't know why they don't like 'em, they just don't."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: The Robert Burns Supper and Scottish Night, featuring the Abilene Pipers

WHERE: The Elks Arts Center (1174 N. First St.)

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday

TICKETS: $10, available at King Music Company (4520 Buffalo Gap Road) and the British Shoppe (4102 Buffalo Gap Road)